The new HellFighter 5 ARC light from SureFire will be shipping soon according to the staff I spoke with at the Special Operations Forces Industry Conference (SOFIC) in Tampa, FL.  The HellFighter 5 is the latest member of the HellFighter portable searchlights from the company.

Finally SureFire has made a E1D. In the past, flashlight users had to Lego together the components. Taking a E2D bezel and tail cap and putting them onto a single cell E1 body.  Below are two iterations that I have made. But this requires buying two separate lights just to make one.

David Reeder, over at Recoil, reviews the Thrym Switchback. It is a ring that you slide onto your flashlight. Combat rings are not a new concept. SureFire put rings on their lights starting with the Combat designed Z series lights. SureFire developed the “syringe” grip. You hold the light like a cigar or a syringe. The ring around the body of the light is what you push your fingers up against. This method works but takes a bit of practice with a firearm. I dont like it because you have a light between your support hand and the pistol.

I offer my thanks the good folks at Stik-N-Shoot for their patience.  This cool little light system has been in my possession, awaiting review, for quite a while.  It seemed logical to wait until I could take it to the range and put it through its paces before finishing the review.

Midwest Industries has a replacement handguard for the IWI Tavor. It has Keymod slots and an optional light mount front plate to place a 1″ light below the barrel.

Testing out the SureFire 2211 Wristlight compared to other weapon lights.

Japan’s Crisis Intelligence has made a monster of a search light. The Alpha-1. It looks like a small cannon with a FNH P90 style grip.

Crimson Trace has announced their latest line of “Clean Green” laser grips for 1911s and select modern handguns. The new grips feature power from 4 button batteries, bringing the system up to a full 12V for added brightness and longer battery life.

Streamlight broadened its line of compact laser/light units with the introduction of the TLR-4 G at the 2014 SHOT Show.  Like the prior TLR-4 models, the new light and laser unit is designed for compact handguns.  Unlike the prior models, this one uses a green aiming laser.

Compared to many recent lights, this Streamlight Headlight is on the large side physically and it makes the most of it in output.  It uses two CR123 cells to produce a rated 540/95/18 lumen output.  Specs from the Streamlight web site:

Streamlight is now offering an IR model of the TLR-2 light and laser aiming unit.  The TLR-2 IRW is designed for use on long guns or full sized handguns with a Picatinny or other accessory rail.

Safariland introduced a new, inexpensive option for mounting a white light on your handgun.  The Rogers’ Rail Light mounts to most accessory rails on modern handguns, and is supposed to be easy and fast to put on or take off.

Streamlight is introducing a new light for police use as well as campers hunters and others in need of handy small light.

After years of obsessing over cool flashlights – both custom and production – surprises rarely come my way, especially as related to production lights.  Such a surprise recently came my way however, when 2 ArmyTek flashlights arrived for review.

Note – there is an existing post about this interesting light over here hence this post will offer to provide a few more technical details rather than attempting to be a typical photo review.

A decade ago, shortly after my 21st birthday, I purchased my first handgun, a Springfield XD chambered in .40 S&W. I was pleased with the handgun and it did absolutely everything I wanted it to do. Its only downfall was that the slide was not stamped “Heckler and Koch”. At that time in my life I was reading a lot of Tom Clancy and Richard Marcinko Books, and occasionally played the Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six video game. All the main characters, heroes and villains, used Heckler and Koch weapons.  Any web query and gun counter guru all agreed that Heckler and Koch made the best firearms in the world. Granted it would be hard to legally own an MP5 or a G36, but the H&K USP and P2000 series were readily available at my local Sportsman’s Warehouse. I wanted one, that’s all there was to it. I spent the summer farming and ranching as well as working for the USDA Forest. I saved up enough money, sold the Springfield XD to a good friend and found a Heckler and Koch P2000 for a decent price on Gunbroker.

Magpul recently announced their new Rail Light Mount is now shipping to their dealers and distributors. Made here in the U.S.A out of reinforced polymer their new light mount integrates with the Magpul XTM panels and fits any standard 1913 Picatinny Rail. It’s available in both right hand and left hand models and retails for $29.95. Check them out at Magpul.com.

The  Unity Tactical EXO is a replacement mount for Surefire’s X-Series weapon lights. The polymer mount adds protective wings over the light switches to prevent accidental activation during storage, which will drain the battery, or during a use, which could alert your target or other hostile actors to your presence.  The mount costs $29.99 and is compatible with Surefire X200, X300 and X300U lights.

The Rosch Works SL1 SIGHT-LIGHT is a very nifty front sight for any picatinny railed firearm that has a built in 250 lumen LED flashlight built in. This is one of those products I wish I had thought up myself!

It is always nice to be pleasantly surprised.  When I received this lantern from Streamlight my first thoughts were, “ho hum – another lantern.” Shame on me.

The Team Japan’s Alpha-1 is a Japanese made search light that looks like it’s design was inspired by the FN P90 PDW. The searchlight, which weighs 4 kg (8.8 lbs), can project a beam of light 2km for 60 minutes.

The Viridian Reactor tactical light is a weapon light for subcompact pistols like the Ruger LCP.  The unit uses the company’s Radiance technology to give the flashlight a wide beam.

(Featured image supplied by GSM Website)

Finding the right place to mount a weapon light on a carbine rifle can always be a challenge. Different shooting techniques, shooting positions, gas systems, rail platforms and accessories all have an effect on where a weapon light is mounted. In the latter part of 2011 Haley Strategic teamed up with Impact Weapons Components to create a series of light mounts. The mounts were designed to complement modern weapon manipulation, accessories such as lasers and IR illumination and leave room for proper hand placement. From their very successful genesis to the present, the mounts have continued to evolve. The Thorntail and the Dropwing were the first mounts available. The Dropwing was designed to attach to a rail via the rail slots and has various ring sizes to attach to “tubular” flashlights. The Thorntail was designed to attach to MIL-STD-1913 rails and is tailored for short barreled rifles. The Thorntail mount also utilizes a ring attachment method and was designed to push the weapon light forward to leave space for proper hand placement. The next mount that Haley Strategic launched was the Mil 620 Light. The light mount was designed for the Surefire Millennium and 620 series of lights.

UPDATE: Raptorlite apologized that their contractor spammed us.

New from SureFire is the 500 lumens Ultra Scout Light designed specifically for mounting on weapons. The M600U model features a picatinny thumbscrew mount and the M620U model features a picatinny Swing Lever mount. Both are available with a tan or black finish.

How many times have you needed a flashlight but also needed your hands to be free? And what if you were unable to wear a headlight, how would you deal with that?

Streamlight is now shipping the TLR-2 G:  a weapon mounted white light with an integral green laser.  The light mounts to any firearm with a Picatinny rail and also to the Glock, Beretta 90Two and other rails.

The Big 3 East in Florida is an expansion of the original Big 3 event held at Kansas every Fall.  Both events were started by writers for writers. The Big 3 stands for Tactical gun, Tactical gear and Tactical training. All the companies and writers were handpicked and by invitations only. The Big 3 East event in Florida was organized by Dillard (CJ) Johnson, a highly decorated retired US Army vet and former PMC. Special thanks to  WPA (Wolf Performance Ammunition) for providing the ammo, Action Target providing the steel targets and Revision Military providing the eye protections for the event.

What is your most useful _________   (complete the description – pistol, knife, flashlight)?